Hello all, I'm new to this site, & I am reaching out in shear despiration. I was banded in 2005, and all was WONDERFUL until October 2008. I had lost over 120 pounds, and was in a size 8, and had cosmetic surgery, that I myself paid over 16K for. I was very happy. Well in October of 2008, I realized I could eat more & that I had no restriction & I was no longer full nor did I get hungry, but I wanted to eat. I began falling into old habbits & eating things I hadn't been able to eat in years. My doctor realized there was a leak. So last week, he replaced the port. Immediately after, he gave me a fill of 3cc, and only 2.5cc came back. I still have NO restriction, and I've gained over 35 pounds and I'm back in a size 14. I'm frustrted, upset & starting to get depressed. The doctor told me today, he doesn't know what to do next. He stated he had to call the devise representative from Allergan, the manufacture of teh LAP BAND, to see what to do next. I'm at a loss. Has anyone every had this happen before? Could the band itself be leaking? According to the Dr. & Allergan, there has never been a leaking band. There have been problems with the port, and around the port, but never with the actual band. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

I'm sorry to hear you have no restriction stowsend. Have they checked to see if it's the port? I assume the injection will show. According to teh surgeons I have seen, most leaks are at the port location, not at teh baand location itself. If it's at the port, you will only have to get teh port replaced. I had that done, and it was an outpatient procedure. Out of either possibility, that would be the best, for it would be the least financial cost, recovery, and easiest fix. I pray it's that. I understand the $$$ piece of it. I was actually going to take out a loan to have it replaced if the insurance didn't cover it, because I know it works, and it has been a good tool for me. I will definately keep you in my thoughts & prayers, and I hope it will al work out for you. Keep the faith, and even though it's hard, stay positive!

Thank you so much for your response.

Melody,

How are you doing? I hope all went well with your band replacement. I am very grateful because as of 10:30am yesterday I have a new band without a leak. From confirmation of the leak until surgery it took less than a month. I am very lucky in that respect. Surgery went

well. My surgeon said it was extremely easy since I already had a great tract around my stomach. They just unbuckled the old band attached the new to the old and slid it through. Easy as pie. As I feared though because my first surgery

was so easy the surgery gods decided I couldn't get off so easy a second time. I was having alot of shoulder pain this time. It seems to be easing though, I just keep walking and walking. I don't like the pain killers so I switched to motrin today and I am having decent pain control with that. I am really happy though because I found out I don't have to do the week of liquid, week of pureed, week of soft then back to regular. Since there was not as much trauma to the stamach this go around he said 2-3 days of each should do it. He did put some Fluid in the band at the time of surgery and warned me to be really careful since this is likely the first time that I will have any real restriction. I am so looking forward to seeing how I can do with a functioning band since in my opinion I did pretty good with my leaky one. lol.

Hi Heather,

The surgery went well. I took some pain meds for the first 2 days, but they were minimal. They tried to keep me on the liquid diet for 3 weeks, but honestly that didn't work. I was confused, for they didn't have to cut the stomach, so I was confused as to why they wanted me on such a strict diet. Yes, I was careful, but oh well. THey did add another stich to hold the band in place for me, because I had the original 4mL LAP Band, and the new one is a 10mL LAP Band. SO since it was larger they wanted to make sure it was held in place well. I really wanted a fill immediately, or soon after. Before I had a leak, I had my band filled with 3.65mL, so I had a TON of restriction. My initial surgeon wont do a fill till the end of May, and the surgeon who did the replacement wouldn't fill until a week earlier. I am a little bummed, but oh well. At least I have my motivation back! :-) I am hoping that my surgeon will give me a 5mL fill, since I was used to having such a large fill from before. I bet not, but I am going to push for at least a 3mL fill. Hopefully I will get my way! That's great that you did so well with a leaky band! I think the reason I gained so much weight is becaue I was barely eating & honestly I liked it. My band had become my crutch. I hope to have a healthier outlook on food, etc with the new replacement. I wish you all the best!

Mel

Hi Heather,

The surgery went well. I took some pain meds for the first 2 days, but they were minimal. They tried to keep me on the liquid diet for 3 weeks, but honestly that didn't work. I was confused, for they didn't have to cut the stomach, so I was confused as to why they wanted me on such a strict diet. Yes, I was careful, but oh well. THey did add another stich to hold the band in place for me, because I had the original 4mL LAP Band, and the new one is a 10mL LAP Band. SO since it was larger they wanted to make sure it was held in place well. I really wanted a fill immediately, or soon after. Before I had a leak, I had my band filled with 3.65mL, so I had a TON of restriction. My initial surgeon wont do a fill till the end of May, and the surgeon who did the replacement wouldn't fill until a week earlier. I am a little bummed, but oh well. At least I have my motivation back! :-) I am hoping that my surgeon will give me a 5mL fill, since I was used to having such a large fill from before. I bet not, but I am going to push for at least a 3mL fill. Hopefully I will get my way! That's great that you did so well with a leaky band! I think the reason I gained so much weight is becaue I was barely eating & honestly I liked it. My band had become my crutch. I hope to have a healthier outlook on food, etc with the new replacement. I wish you all the best!

Mel

You should have followed the post op diet, it's there for a reason. The scarring and adhesions need to form and when you eat foods other than liquids the scarring cannot form and now you risk a slip 6-12 months down the road.